>I have a friend whose Hummer feeders have been taken over by House Finches
>to the extent that he Hummers can't feed. Does anyone know if this happing
>before?
> Reece
>Reece 'n Judy Mitchell
>Flat Rock, NC
>rmitche2@tds.net
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REECE . . .
Many kinds of birds will come to hummingbird feeders, and House
Finches are among the most common. When there are lots of House
Finches, you can expect them to dominate feeders, and that's part of
the game; i.e., when you put out sugar water, you can't really
legislate what species will take advantage of your energy-rich food
source. :-)
To sway the balance back in favor of hummers, may I suggest a few
strategies that have worked for other folks:
--Use hummingbird feeders without perches or big bases
--Hang at least one feeder very close to a window so the House
Finches can be spooked easily
--Put out a shallow pan of sugar water away from the feeders in the
hope the House Finches will perch on the rim and sip
--Put up more hummingbird feeders
--Teach the neighborhood squirrels to chase the House Finches
Best wishes,
BILL
**********
BILL HILTON JR., "The Piedmont Naturalist"
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History
1432 DeVinney Road
York, South Carolina 29745
USA
e-mail: <hilton@hiltonpond.org>
Voice: (803) 684-5852
eFax: (503) 218-0845
Hilton Pond Center for Piedmont Natural History is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit research and education organization, so all in-kind or
monetary gifts to Operation RubyThroat and the Center are
tax-deductible. Please visit our websites:
Hilton Pond: <http://www.hiltonpond.org>
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"Never trust a person too lazy to get up for sunrise or too busy to
watch the sunset."
BHjr.
**********